A Donegal man has overseen the project to design Argentina’s World Cup jersey.
Andrew Dolan, a senior project manager at the Adidas brand, was the brains behind the design of the iconic short.
The Inishowen man says working on the project was “a once in a lifetime opportunity that was a lot of fun”.
He said: “I was specifically handling Argentina for this World Cup which was an honour as it was the first international tournament I worked on at Adidas.
“So obviously it comes with a lot of pressure. Everything we do we build with insights, with the local market and the Federation.
“And with an Argentina jersey you ask everyone how different can you make it each time.”
Andrew explained each jersey is made with plastic intercepted from coastal towns and beach resorts.
He added: “In terms of the design and the story behind it for me and working with design it was about tapping into the authentic national DNA. So the blue is as close to the national flag as we could get.
“We brought in details from the flag as well with the Sol de Mayo as a sign off on the back neck.”
He told the Footballco Podcast how the kit is asymmetrical with the front and back being different which is something the country never had before.
He said: “The front has three blue stripes and the back has four blue stripes. Each one in their own way referring back to the two previous World Cup wins for Argentina in 1978 and 1986.”
Andrew said work began 20 months ago and because Covid restrictions a lot was done remotely.
He added: “It was a once in a lifetime opportunity and a lot of fun.”
An update on Adidas website stated the shirt will be available to buy again just after Christmas.